


Brewing Romance

by niennavalier



Series: Written on a Whim [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Art Student!Steve, Artist Steve Rogers, Barista!Bucky, Barista!Clint, But also kind of an ass, Clint Is a Good Bro, Clintasha - Freeform, Engineer!Bucky, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Romance, Skinny!Steve, Stucky - Freeform, but he's loved anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 10:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6048193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niennavalier/pseuds/niennavalier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky really liked working at this place. Stark Cafe was nice; classy, but not overly ostentatious, and surprisingly warm and welcoming (although he did have suspicions that design choice had more to do with the owner’s wife than the rather flamboyant owner himself). Honest, it was a nice change of pace from studying structural engineering at Shield University for sure; the clientele was pretty laid-back and open, as was the manager Natasha, who ran a tight ship, but was always up for some teasing jokes at her employees’ expense.<br/>And, extra plus, the place was a pretty popular hub for study groups. Most of their regulars were fellow students at the university, as were most of the baristas, for that matter. Sharon Carter, nursing student. Sam Wilson, aerodynamics major.</p><p>Steve Rogers, art student.</p><p>AKA: Stucky College and Coffee Shop AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brewing Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt from tumblr (that I'll put at the end so I don't spoil stuff) and my attempt to get out of the lazy hole I've been in recently. Hope you all like it!
> 
> (Oh, and special thanks to my IRL friend who came up with the title!)

Bucky really liked working at this place. Stark Cafe was nice; classy, but not overly ostentatious, and surprisingly warm and welcoming (although he did have suspicions that design choice had more to do with the owner’s wife than the rather flamboyant owner himself). Honest, it was a nice change of pace from studying structural engineering at Shield University for sure; the clientele was pretty laid-back and open, as was the manager Natasha, who ran a tight ship, but was always up for some teasing jokes at her employees’ expense.

And, extra plus, the place was a pretty popular hub for study groups. Most of their regulars were fellow students at the university, as were most of the baristas, for that matter. Sharon Carter, nursing student. Sam Wilson, aerodynamics major.

Steve Rogers, art student.

As if on cue, the door to the café was pushed open, a new customer adding themselves to the already considerable line. That was when Bucky felt an elbow in his side.

“Hey, Barnes.”

“Yeah Barton?” Bucky didn’t even spare a glance at his coworker, who was currently breezing through his last year of college on an archery scholarship (which Bucky, for the record, had definitely _not_ expressed his jealousy over).

“Looks like Mr. Blue-Eyes-and-Blond-Hair just got in.”

“I know.” He pointedly kept taking down orders, not letting Clint see just what the kid did to him.

“Ooh, got his schedule memorized?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. Asshole. “I’ve just got eyes and a halfway decent memory, birdbrain. Besides, he comes in here at the same time, same days. You’d have to be an idiot not to notice.” He glanced up, smiling at the girl in front of him and handing her a receipt, directing her a few feet over to where Clint started filling the order.

“Y’know, we’re all rootin’ for you two here.” Bucky could hear the grin in the other’s voice. “I say you just ask him out before we all start a betting pool.”

“Maybe when you finally decide to go ask Nat out,” Bucky smirked back.

“Oh come on, man! That’s not fair! She’s our boss!”

“And she probably knows you like her, too! ‘Sides, she’s not even that much older than us.” It’d always been something of a mystery, how the hell she’d risen through the ranks so quickly, but it was something no one really dared ask. Like they’d ever question Natasha Romanoff; they weren’t stupid, after all.

“Still, that’s not playing fair, Barnes.”

“Never said I did,’ he said with a grin, turning back to his actual job, rather than just harassing the shit out of Barton. And he was met with eyes that were just so _blue_ it was a freaking miracle he was still somewhat cogent. When had he gotten through that much of the line? “Hey, Steve,” he recovered quickly, turning up the charm, “your regular?” He was just currently glad Barton was busy at that moment – didn’t need him making jabs at “how adorable” they were. He loved the guy like a brother, but sometimes? Sometimes he was a huge pain in the ass.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine.” The response was rushed, and that much was obvious. Grabbing a cup and marking the order from memory, Bucky could catch a glimpse of the kid, the hunch of his skinny shoulders, the dark circles beneath those eyes.

“Hey, everything alright?”

“What?” he started. Well, add exhausted to the list. “Yeah. Got a project due this week, and just stressed, you know?”

Bucky nodded in sympathy, grabbing the receipt and pen, scribbling down something on its back because _screw it_. Steve was worth it. Might as well act when Steve was too out of it to notice the extra movement as anything out of the ordinary. “Well, hope you get through it fine.” He handed over the receipt, feeling his heart drop a little when blue eyes didn’t catch the slightest glimpse of his note.

* * *

 

Steve hadn’t been lying; he really was stressed. What he hadn’t been as honest about was the reason as to why. Normally, he would’ve been able to finish his art assignments well ahead of time – always had been. Architecture study – that was easy, routine. He’d tackled way harder things before!

Problem was, this time, there was a new muse that liked to rampage through his imagination. It seemed like every time he tried to draw anything, even set his pencil to paper, out of nowhere, there was that strong jaw, the charming smile, the sparkling eyes…and then he was looking at the spitting image of the handsome barista from Stark Café. Bucky – that was his name. Not that he’d ever asked; not that he’d really ever had to – one benefit of those nametags they all had to wear. Plus, he swore, they just clicked. Conversation was easy and natural; it just happened, Bucky laughing and smiling that beautiful, charming smile that Steve couldn’t get out of his head for the life of him…

And now there were more sketches of Bucky in his sketchbook than Steve would ever care to admit to anyone. For as much as it was…cathartic…and as much as Steve tried to justify it to himself as refining his skills at facial features, it was really eating up at his time. At first, he’d figured it was okay; he still had time to get it out of his system. But now? The project was due in three days, he had nothing to show for it, and there was no sign that this obsession would be going away any time soon, if ever.

This was bad. Really bad.

Wandering over to his customary spot by the window, he dropped his sketchbook to the table with one hand, setting his drink down more carefully with the other. After which he dropped his head to his hands with a groan, crumpling the receipt in the process. He really needed to pass this class. He really, really did. And hell if he was gonna lose out because of a damn architecture study.

Inspiration. That was what he needed.

There were plenty of nice buildings! Just the University itself had plenty of nice places! Lots of scenic locations in the foreground of any kind of building you could want, from the gothic buildings of the English department to the sleek glass walls of the science labs. Or there was the city! It wasn’t even that far. Plenty of skyscrapers and blue skies mixed with the little family owned shops.  Even this café wasn’t bad. Unassuming exterior, the warm interior, the people inside –

He actually dropped his head to the table this time. He was so screwed. So very screwed. And coming to Stark Café – what had he been thinking! Stupid, stupid, stupid idea. He needed to work, not get even more distracted! God, why had he come here at all? What had he been thinking? He had to get out of there; he had to get out of there now, because he was gonna get this done and nevermind if he got no sleep _he wasn’t failing this!_

Resolutely, he flattened out the receipt, ready to jam it into the folds of his sketchbook so he could get out of there –

Until there was a flash of dark ink that caught his eye. Pulling the receipt from where it was halfway hidden beneath the cover, he found the note messily scrawled onto its back.

_Looks like you could de-stress. Dinner?_

And his head snapped up, meeting the eye of the ridiculously handsome barista. There was that knowing, mischievous smile tinted with the perfect amount of sweet charm, and Steve found himself nodding in response to the written question, watching the grin widen.

Well, he could see no harm in one dinner date.

**Author's Note:**

> As promised, the prompt from @otpprompts on tumblr: "Person A is a barista working at a cafe and has a crush on Person B, a regular customer. One rainy day, Person B comes in feeling sad and Person A comforts them with a free coffee and pastry. When Person B leaves, Person A hands them the receipt and Person B sees a small note from Person A."
> 
> So...maybe I didn't follow it exactly, but this drabble did originate from it regardless? I dunno, but I got attached and didn't want to change it. It's fluff, so I'm not complaining. 
> 
> Drop on by my tumblr (@niennavalier) if you wanna fangirl with someone! (I'd link it, but I dunno how, so fun times).


End file.
